How did we get here? Since when does a 13-year-old boy bring a gun to school to threaten a girl?
This is the root of gender-based violence that begs the question as to what conditioned this boy in his 13 years on this earth to reach this point. How have we failed him? What lessons did he learn growing up? What role models did he have? Where does he go from here?
I grew up in a community plagued by violence. Violence was a way of life as gangs ran amok in our community. Often, the effect on young men was to make them immune and part of the cycle of violence. The effects were seen in their relationships and in their families.
But, many chose to break that cycle and it is possible for this boy. He’s been expelled from school and released into the care of his parents while the police hold an enquiry as to how he got the gun. Unfortunately, punitive measures may not help him change.
My concern is for the boy and the thousands like him. What adult will he become? Surely now, community leaders, social workers and psychologists should be involved in his rehabilitation. If not, will he become like many other adult males, a perpetrator of the scourge of GBV?
CONCERNED
HAVE YOUR SAY
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